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packrat

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Everything posted by packrat

  1. I certainly wouldn't. Most of the top-tier think tanks in Washington require a Ph.D. for full research positions. And many of the top political appointees (especially in IR) are coming from those think tanks and have PhDs. Don't do a MPP unless you want to be a bureaucrat. To answer the OP, I think it's somewhat taboo to admit, which is why nobody here is going to speak up. But on one of my visits to a T-5 program last week, this notion was openly discussed and there was a sense that working at a think tank would put your PhD to good use. Not sure what else you're looking for in an answer here.
  2. Take a year or two off after you graduate and get some real research experience. Don't apply for a PhD unless you are absolutely certain that you LOVE research. Which is not the same as federal or NGO employment.
  3. It wouldn't disqualify you, but since you have a whole year to improve your score, I'd recommend retaking it to see if you can boost it above 156. You will likely be taking at least some methods courses for the general core, and better to assuage any doubt now since you have the time to do so.
  4. Political violence/insurgency: Yale, Stanford, Princeton is growing... Anything else in security: Columbia, MIT, UCLA I didn't "rank" these -- MIT, for example, would be a great fit if you are into the more traditional/historical perspective, but Stanford is a better fit if you are into advanced quant techniques. MIT is more policy relevant than Stanford for the most part. When people talk about security studies, I'd say those are the programs that come up most frequently. Yale and Stanford are probably traditionally strongest for conflict studies and their grads seem to place well in those fields.
  5. Hi all, Was wondering if anyone can comment on the placement for Princeton vs. Yale (in CP/IR) -- not just where people have placed in the past, but where the trend is going? I'm trying to get a better sense of how Yale's dept overhaul (for lack of a better word) 7 or 8 years ago is impacting graduate training and marketability. From what I've gathered, it's improving, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. I'm including Princeton as well because while I'd always heard good things about it's placement, but reviews on here seem to be more mixed. Want to make sure I'm not misinterpreting something. Again, most interested in the IR/CP perspective.
  6. I've heard this pretty universally from people who've been there in the past few years. I think a lot of its bad rep is from a generation ago. +1. I'm no expert in that subfield, but as I understand it Michigan is easily amongst the top political psychology programs (more so than Yale).
  7. I don't know how reliable Peterson's is, but those numbers seen less than accurate to me based on conversations I've had with people in the dept. Regardless, your reasoning on Harvard seems valid. Harvard in general is also notoriously bureaucratic, so this delay does not at all surprise me.
  8. I'm curious as to why they take so much longer than the other programs. Anyone know how many applicants they typically get and how big their class size is? I understand that Stanford usually has a small class (and had 440 apps this year), but Yale gets around 600-700 and still managed to report last week...I can't imagine Harvard is getting significantly more than that.
  9. Awesome, thank you for checking and so promptly responding. Fingers crossed for you all!
  10. Has anyone contacted Harvard re decision releases for govt PhD? I know we've been saying next week, but is that just a hypothesis or is that coming from their grad student administrator?
  11. Thanks. That's very helpful. I know this person's tenure clock was reset because another prof in the department to which they moved told me it was. Was just told yesterday by a mutual friend/colleague though that this person moved because the type of work they do is a bit more policy oriented, which this person felt was better appreciated/more encouraged in the second dept. I will also ask the prof directly in the manner you suggest. Thanks again, really appreciate it.
  12. I think you should drop a nice note, and for the POIs you really liked, might even leave the door open for future discussions about their research, etc. Building a strong network is really important in the field (and on the job market). Based on my personal experience, you would be amazed at how small the Ivory Tower is, and at how quickly word spreads (good and bad) about reputations. First impressions matter a lot.
  13. At my undergrad (a T-3 public university), the average GPA was 3.2. At one of our peer public institutions it is a 3.1 I think. In hindsight I wish I'd had my LOR writers stress that since I know a lot of people come from schools with borderline absurd grade inflation.
  14. Yes. Well at first I was thinking they could be engineering or something, which could explain the lower GPA. But hopefully the folks designing our bridges are not earning a 153Q.
  15. I think most of us would agree that it's very unlikely someone with that GPA/GRE would be getting into Harvard. That said, there is a first time for everything and I'd actually commend a school of Harvard's caliber that was able to look beyond a GRE score.
  16. A POI at a program I am considering recently moved there from another program I am considering. I found this curious since he had to start his tenure clock over after being 4 years in at the first program, which was already a T-5 (he moved to another T-5). Is it appropriate to inquire about why he moved, so as to gauge whether there are any red flags at the other program of which I should be aware? If so, what would be the best way of breeching this subject?
  17. Just found this gem on the results board: MIT -- rejection "Strange: Applied to Political Science Department, rejected from Strip Club Department via massive xxx.mit.edu blast email." +1 for humor
  18. This is a very valid point. I'll inquire with my POI about the feasibility of this (the prof you mention who was recently placed at Chicago had the same POI as I do, which makes this even more relevant). Yale seems very welcoming and encouraging of cross-disciplinary study, which is a huge plus for me. I am IR btw, and my research is at the confluence IR and international law. I am curious as to how long the PhD takes if doing the MA in a different discipline, though? (apologies if this is a totally stupid question. I'm just not that familiar with getting an MA in one field while simultaneously pursuing a PhD in another). Would that be an extra year+, or is it all included in the same general coursework typically? THANK YOU!
  19. cj, I am out of up-votes for today, but thanks very much for your response. I guess the question then would be whether they plan to bring in any other full-time methodologists going forward. I suppose that would be a question for the department. I am aware of Dr. Lyall's work and agree that it is very good. My understanding is that he is on leave this year while writing a book in preparation for tenure. Will look into Dr. Beim's more thoroughly -- thanks for the heads-up. Thanks again for the candid and helpful response.
  20. I'm looking to get some candid feedback on Yale's methodology offerings. I know they had a few key faculty depart w/in the past few years in this area, and I'm curious as to how the department has responded, and how the training there is now perceived by other departments. Yale has incredibly young faculty for the most part, so it's a bit difficult to discern who's really leading the charge these days and where the department sees itself going forward given its more qualitative roots. Would appreciate anyone who can shed light on this. I will ask the same of profs and grad students there with whom I speak, but wanted to get some less biased responses as well Thanks!
  21. LOL it is ridiculous how much lower cost of living is in New Haven from where I am now. Sweet Jesus. Welcome to inequality in America. I am particularly glad the cost of T-Bone steak is going down. God forbid it doesn't.
  22. Hi there, I started that other thread about applying a second time, but with a surprise admission no longer plan on doing that. That said, I did ask the DGS at one program to which I applied for feedback. She noted that she wasn't on the admissions committee (which surprised me -- I thought the DGS always was, though I suppose it could vary by institution). She did, however, very kindly offer to dig up my file and look through it and offer her personal opinion on how it could be improved. I think it's probably rare to get that kind of out-of-your way response, but I do know several of her colleagues (and sort of name-dropped in my email), so that may have been a good nudge. I think a more useful approach may be to go through your POIs. Tell them your situation, and let them know that you are enthusiastic about applying again in the future. Then ask them if they might be able to glean any insight from the adcom on what you can do to improve your application going forward, or see if they themselves are willing to glance through your file and offer their own opinions. I would just make sure they know that you are aware of the sensitivities of internal deliberations, but appreciate whatever personal opinions they can provide. Hope that helps!
  23. Does anyone know when Harvard is notifying? i.e. has anyone dropped the grad admin a line recently...?
  24. The worst part was knowing that the only schools I had left to hear from were Harvard and Yale. If you are putting all of your eggs in that basket, you know you're in trouble. Needless to say, the dinner was pretty unforgettable!
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